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McLain has almost a full week of worldly experience, and he couldn’t be doing better. His mother, when she isn’t cuddling with him or taking care of the rest of us, has his nursing schedule completely under control. His sister adores him, asks to hold him at least 10 times a day, and hasn’t poked him in the eye (yet). His canine brothers have only licked him (Baxter) and drooled on him (Robah) once.

Things are going really well for the expanded family unit. We truly appreciate the ongoing help and love from his grandparents, as well as the calls, visits, and food from friends and family. Two special shout-outs are warranted: to Nana for quarantining herself Saturday when she had a stomach bug, and Sarah for joining Katie and me the early morning of his arrival.

McLain Moore Jones was born early this morning at Rex Hospital in Raleigh. He’s quite lovable.

Birth stats:

7 lbs., 10 oz.

20.5 in. long

born at 7:45 a.m.

Katie’s initial assessment of his appearance is that he, like Jackie when she was an infant, looks like my father. He’s been sleeping pretty hard during his first few hours. Of course, I think he’s amazing in every way. I also think the same of my wife. By the way, Katie is already scheming about how to get out of the hospital as soon as possible.

Dr. Littleton was wearing a Tar Heel-themed surgical hat when he delivered McLain, which Katie allowed. The planned aspect of Katie’s admittance and McLain’s birth made it seem like a very controlled and predictable process. Jackie’s two-week-late arrival surprised us, but McLain arrived according to the schedule laid out for us yesterday.

My only disappointment this morning was the Steve Miller Band playing in the operating room during the McLain extraction. When will hospitals defer to parents for a child’s first ex-utero music? Seriously though, I couldn’t have been happier with the treatment we received this time and last time from Rex Hospital. Everyone has gone out of their way to welcome us and make us comfortable.

Tonight I looked back at what I tweeted during Jackie’s birth in December of ’08. Here’s a screenshot of the twitter archive; the entries are listed chronologically from oldest at the bottom, to newest at the top.

Tweets from Jackie’s birth

This is the image linked to the post-birth tweet shown above, “Love”.

I speak for Katie, probably not Jackie, and certainly not Baxter and Robah, when I say we are giddy with excitement about meeting McLain.

In less than six days, Katie will give birth to McLain Moore Jones. Unlike Jackie’s birth, this one will be a scheduled c-section. We know that McLain will be extracted at 7:15 a.m. on Tuesday, September 14.

Here’s the PR plan for McLain’s birth. Friends and family, if you want to know how things are going on Tuesday, choose one of these info-dissemination options:

Jackie will be two weeks old tomorrow and I’m starting to understand why parents always say that their kids grow up so fast. Our daughter has come a long way since her birthday on the 23rd (which she shares with her Aunt Holly). She seems pretty comfortable with the nursing routine Katie has established. As the waste management technician in our household (my vast experience picking up after two large dogs made me a shoe-in for the position), I can attest that all systems are fully operational.

Every passing day brings more active and awake periods, and those little eyes are opening wider and focusing a little better all the time. Here’s a video of Jackie having some wake-time today with her mama after her 1:00 pm feeding:

Here are some more pictures of Jackie meeting her family and her parents’ friends:

Jackie with Sarah Burns, Katie, and Nana

Jackie with her Grandfather Burns

Uncle Rich and Aunt Mindy hangin' with their niece

Sara with Jackie (not pictured: shy Uncle Stew)

Jackie with Dan Wilkinson

Her favorite position, this time in artsy black & white

We are #1 (oops...were #1). Jackie and her dad are pictured here jinxing the Tar Heels. Cool Carolina threads courtesy of Elizabeth and Noah.

I guess this is blackmail fodder for later in her life? She's obviously embarassed, yet undeniably cute.

Jackie Jones was born at 10:05 p.m. on December 23 by way of c-section. She weighed 10 lbs., 8 oz., and was 22 in. long at the time of birth. After holding her for the first time, I realized how futile it would have been to hold out longer for vaginal birth. Jackie was just too big to enter the world without some help from her doctor and surgical team.

Katie did extremely well with the c-section procedure, and continues to recover quickly. On top of that, Katie even complied whenever the nurses asked her to put down her Blackberry (it was a little touch-and-go at first). In all seriousness, my wife is a rock and I didn’t expect anything short of courage and grace from her before, during, and after delivery.

Cutting the cord.

We should have known that Jackie would be a large newborn when one of the nurses on our floor guessed that Katie was carrying twins. I think that at least one-third of her wardrobe is already too small for her on day one. She’s going straight to 3-6 month-sized clothes.

Wow...10 lbs., 8 oz., 22 in.

Her long fingers were one of the first things that struck me when I held her for the first time.

Of course, Katie and I are enamored with our baby girl. Based on her appearance during her first day ex utero, she has a Jeffcoats nose and a Watson chin. I wonder if other new parents have identified physical resemblances from their mothers’ side of the family before noticing characteristics from their fathers’ side. Regardless of who she resembles, her mother and I think she’s perfect.

I would be remiss if I didn’t give credit to the nurses, staff, and doctors at the REX Hospital Birth Center. They have really made us comfortable and confident as new parents during our first thirty-six hours under their watch. Most importantly, they delivered to us our daughter. We love her, love her, love her.

Katie hasn’t dilated more in the last hour and a half. The doctor wants to give her another hour…if there’s no change between now and then, they might decide to do a cesarean birth. That would happen sometime tonight depending on other patients who need c-sections.

Well, here we are, waiting for further developments. Dilation and active labor are our immediate goals. The obstetrician who welcomed us last night just took off for the holidays; she’ll be replaced by another OB who happens to be my co-worker’s brother-in-law. From all we’ve heard, we’re in good hands with him.

A mysterious rumbling, drone-like sound is coming from somewhere on the floor below us — it sounds like Robah snoring and groaning, so it’s a comforting reminder of home.

The reality is starting to set in that the baby will not be coming anytime very soon. In fact, I have a feeling that Jackie will be a Christmas Eve baby, but a lot could happen (even cesarean birth) between now and midnight tonight.

We’ve put our playlist on pause for an Ellen/The Sopranos television break.

After breaking Katie’s water, she got some pain relief from the doctor on call. Things are going very well. Contractions are about a minute and a half apart. Janet is keeping us company in the delivery room. So is Stephen Malkmus, who is singing about the “Cadillac of winter” vis a vis “Old Jerry.”

Katie has insisted on wearing her Saucony running shoes during all this for some reason, so she looks like she ran right in this morning full with child. Of course, I think she looks cute.

Go Jackie go. The nurse gave us a noncommittal ballpark delivery time of about 5:00 p.m. We’ll see.

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Image from Raleigh

I took this post-apocalyptic picture outside Jones Barber Shop in Raleigh last year.